15 FILMS WE CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH AT THE 2026 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
words by FRANCESCO PIZZUTI
There are few places that make cinema feel as alive as Venice. Every year, the Lido transforms into a playground for filmmakers, critics and cinephiles, where days blur into a marathon of screenings, conversations and the occasional sprint across the island to make it to the next premiere on time. Last year, it was so magical we almost forgot about the not-so-good weather. Now, we're ready to do it all over again.
With the full line-up finally here, anticipation is officially setting in. Between long-awaited returns from celebrated auteurs, intimate documentaries and some directorial debuts, the 2026 edition is shaping up to be very exciting. Here’s a selection of fifteen films already sitting at the top of our watchlist.
JOIE DE VIVRE
BY LUCA GUADAGNINO
image via @filmupdates on X
Only Luca Guadagnino could convince us that a seven-hour screening sounds like the perfect afternoon. Joie de Vivre is an expansive tribute to Bernardo Bertolucci, exploring the legendary director's life, work and lasting influence through conversations with filmmakers he inspired. Equal parts film history lesson and love letter, this feels like essential viewing for those of us who believe cinema can change the way we look at the world.
OASIS: DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
BY DYLAN SOUTHERN & WILL LOVELACE
image credit: SIMON EMMETT
If you somehow escaped Oasis reunion fever, this documentary probably won't let you any longer. Featuring Liam and Noel Gallagher's first joint interviews in over 25 years, alongside never-before-seen rehearsal footage from the Live '25 tour, it feels intimate in a way we haven’t seen before.
BUNKER
BY FLORIAN ZELLER
image courtesy of VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
Moral ambiguity seems to be very in this festival season, and Bunker moves precisely in that grey area. Zeller’s latest work tells the story of an architect taking on a project to build a survivalist bunker for a tech billionaire, and the consequential controversies and tensions that arise in his personal life following this unethical choice. Exploring dilemmas that define our time, Bunker is a powerful thriller that isn’t scared to confront us with the very human fears and anxieties of our unhinged world.
COMPANY
BY CASEY AFFLECK
image via IMDB
Casey Affleck returns behind the camera with an ambitious drama that follows a mysterious traveller whose story connects three strangers across generations. Balancing grief, forgiveness and unexpected human connection, Company shows how it’s the small moments that reshape a life. Gothic and contemplative, it feels perfectly suited to the reflective atmosphere of Venice.
LOOK BACK
BY HIROKAZU KORE-EDA
image courtesy of K2 PICTURES
Hirokazu Kore-eda turns his attention to Tatsuki Fujimoto's beloved manga in this moving coming-of-age story. Following two young girls whose shared passion for drawing binds them together over thirteen years, Look Back explores friendship, creativity and loss. Bring tissues and prepare for a visually gorgeous and emotional watch; this one already has all the ingredients to become a festival favourite.
A PLACE TO HEAL
BY CÉDRIC KAHN
image courtesy of VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
Set inside the adolescent psychiatry unit of a French public hospital, Kahn’s film follows the teenagers who pass through its doors and the medical team trying to hold them together. For those of us who love stories of complicated friendships and human fragilities powered by that kind of resilience only teenagers have, it’s a must-watch.
INK
BY DANNY BOYLE
image courtesy of VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
Trainspotting’s Danny Boyle's latest is an energetic dive into the birth of a revolutionary news publication, following the dreamers, outsiders and rule-breakers determined to reinvent journalism. With Boyle's trademark pace and visual register and our beloved Jack O’Connell, Ink promises a thrilling cinematic ride. Plus, a story about the circulation of information could be quite enlightening in these uncertain times.
BUCKING FASTARD
BY WERNER HERZOG
image via MUBI.COM
Starring the Mara sisters, Bucking Fastard follows a set of twins whose connection is so complete they move, speak, dream and even make mistakes in perfect unison. Strange, poetic and deeply philosophical, it sounds like exactly the kind of wonderfully unclassifiable film only Herzog could make.
A BIT OF LIGHT
BY ALI ASGARI
image courtesy of VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
Director Ali Asgari’s latest work starts with a devastating premise: An Iranian doctor, stripped of his career after being arrested, decides to spend one final day with his family before taking his own life. As the hours unfold, moments of tenderness and everyday routine begin to complicate his decision.
LA RAGAZZA CON LA LEICA
BY ALINA MARAZZI
image credit: MANUEL ALBERTO CLARO
Arthouse filmmaker Alina Marazzi opens the Orizzonti section with an adaptation of Helena Janeczek’s novel that revisits the extraordinary life of pioneering war photographer Gerda Taro, beginning on the final day before she returned to the Spanish Civil War with her Leica camera. Spotlighting an artist whose story deserves to be remembered, the film honours a woman whose images changed photojournalism forever.
PRIMETIME
BY LANCE OPPENHEIM
image courtesy of A24
The Whale’s Lance Oppenheim has already shown a fascination with the surreal corners of American culture, and Primetime follows that direction with boldness. Revisiting Chris Hansen and the cultural phenomenon of To Catch a Predator, the thriller examines the conjunction of reality television, spectacle and morality at a time when all three feel incredibly relevant.
BIG LITTLE THINGS
BY MICHELLE ZHOU
image courtesy of MOEBIUS ENTERTAINMENT
Michelle Zhou's family drama begins with a seemingly harmless New Year's Eve lie before evolving into an intimate portrait of identity, expectation and love. When a young woman introduces a fake boyfriend to her seemingly perfect Chinese family, her girlfriend's unexpected arrival changes everything. A nuanced look at generational conflict and personal tensions between tradition and self-determination that feels incredibly universal.
UN BON PETIT SOLDAT
BY STÉPHANE BRIZÉ
image courtesy of VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
Corporate burnout, impossible expectations, and the illusion of workplace wellbeing sit at the heart of Un Bon Petit Soldat. Newly appointed as the HR manager of a major company, Carla is caught between protecting employees and delivering the ruthless performance targets demanded by the higher-ups. As ethical compromises pile up, the film becomes a timely portrait of ambition, power and the emotional cost of climbing the corporate ladder.
THE ECHO CHAMBER
BY ANDREA PALLAORO
image courtesy of VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
Love can be truly unsettling. Based on the final story and screenplay written by legendary filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci before his death in 2018, The Echo Chamber follows Leo and Anne as they circle one another in a relationship where care slowly slips into dependency, and desire becomes almost indistinguishable from control. The film blurs memory, absence and longing into something hauntingly intimate.
QUEER EDWARD II
BY THEO ROLLASON
image via EYE FILM MUSEUM
Part historical documentary, part political reflection, Queer Edward II revisits Derek Jarman's radical 1991 adaptation through previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage. By placing the film within the context of Britain's queer rights movement, Rollason draws powerful parallels between then and now. It's a timely reminder that cinema and art at large are and always will be a space for resistance as much as storytelling.
